Regulatory and Compliance

* With numerous contempt of Congress charges swirling thanks to the inaction of Trump administration officials, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has declared that the nation is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. It was only a matter of time before this happened. [New York Times]

* Meanwhile, in the wake of Speaker Pelosi’s comments, President Trump now says that he’ll leave it up to AG Bill Barr to determine whether special counsel Robert Mueller will be permitted to testify before Congress. Frankly, he’s more concerned about Don Jr. now. [New York Times]

* C. Allen Parker, former Cravath presiding partner turned Wells Fargo GC turned Wells Fargo acting CEO, has done something very wise in his short time leading the troubled bank: He created a regulatory and compliance group. Smooth move! [Corporate Counsel]

* “I want my life back.” Jessica Crutcher has come forward as the formerly anonymous Mayer Brown partner behind the $20 million suit where she alleged that a bartender at a Houston restaurant raped her. [Texas Lawyer]

* Paul Manafort has officially been disbarred in D.C. after his conviction for “tampering with witnesses while on pre-trial release,” a crime of moral turpitude. This poor crook lost everything thanks to his association with Donald Trump. [Big Law Business]

* Conan O’Brien has settled a lawsuit that accused him of copyright infringement through joke theft, writing that he “decided to forgo a potentially farcical and expensive jury trial in federal court over five jokes that don’t even make sense anymore.” [Variety]

The most ostentatious scissors imaginable must be used to be successful under this presidency.

The reign of the compliance officer is now officially at an end.

Let's meet two former Biglaw attorneys who built a new business (and business model) to help a underserved client segment -- without writing any new computer code.

Ah, rules -- wouldn't life be easier if they existed?

* Sri Srinivasan was sworn in as a member of the D.C. Circuit by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who called him “fair, faultless and fabulous.” The man must have great shoes. [Washington Post]

* Things aren’t going very well for Steven Donziger in the Chevron / Ecuador case now, but then again, they never are. The Second Circuit denied his bid to oust the judge on the case. [Bloomberg]

* Dewey know how much this failed firm’s ex-landlord wants from 450 of its former partners? Somewhere in the ballpark of $1.6 million to $45.45 million, so it could be painful. [Am Law Daily]

* Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton has already named a new chairman. Congrats to J. Henry Walker IV, a man whose name alone makes it sound like he should probably leading something. [Daily Report]

* Time is running out for prosecutors to bring charges against those connected to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, but it looks like his niece, a Fordham Law grad, is in their sights. [DealBook / New York Times]

* The series finale of Breaking Bad airs on Sunday, and you must be very sad, so here are five compliance lessons to take away from the show. First and foremost, don’t ever hire a Pinkman. [Corporate Counsel]

* E.A. Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Company settled the suit filed against them by college athletes, leaving the NCAA to whine, moan, and “take this all the way to the Supreme Court.” [Birmingham News]

* George Zimmerman’s wife says her husband “went on a victory tour” without her, and has no idea where he is. Clue: maybe he was advising Cybill Shepherd for her role on Law & Order next week. [Miami Herald]

What is in-house columnist Mark Herrmann's biggest weakness, according to his latest 360-degree review?

What's the difference between an explanation and an excuse? Perhaps it's a matter of your track record.

Mark Herrmann asks: Does your law firm have an adequate compliance program in place?

Advice for in-house lawyers on how to respond when prosecutors come a-knocking, from U.S. Attorney turned Skadden partner Patrick Fitzgerald. You're welcome!

Mark Herrmann is happy to share his conflict resolution style with the world, but what's your method of handling conflict in the practice of law?

Why consider a compliance job? In-house columnist Susan Moon discusses all of the possibilities.

* As an in-house compliance officer, there’s only one guarantee: you’ll be paid, and you’ll be paid quite well — we’re talking like six-figure salaries here. Regulatory corporate compliance, on the other hand, isn’t such a surefire thing. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]

* When it comes to employment data, this law dean claims that using full-time, long-term positions where bar passage is required as a standard to measure success in the employment market is “grossly misleading.” Uhh, come on, seriously? [Am Law Daily]

* “Bar passes and jobs are inextricably tied,” but eight of New York’s 15 law schools had lower bar passage rates than last year for the July exam. Guess which school came in dead last place. [New York Law Journal]

* You know, it may actually be a good thing for a monk to apply to law school right now. It can’t get much worse; after all, the guy’s already taken a vow of poverty. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

* Dominique Strauss-Kahn officially settled the sexual assault civil lawsuit that was filed against him by Nafissatou Diallo. Given that she thanked “everybody all over the world,” it was probably a nice payout. [CNN]

* Steven Keeva, a pioneer in work/life balance publications for lawyers, RIP. [ABA Journal]

How do we train employees about corporate policies, legal requirements, compliance issues, and the like? Here are some insights from in-house columnist Mark Herrmann.

How can in-house lawyers get company employees to follow rules? It's not easy.

Hiring of attorneys by corporate legal departments has picked up in recent months. As companies became more cost-conscious during the recession, they began reducing legal expenditures by keeping more legal work in-house and relying less on outside counsel with their high billing rates. This has resulted in an increased workload, and thus a need for […]